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[Bonus Episode] How to Empower Student Retention Efforts with AI
Next Practices
What if AI could help student success teams act earlier, work smarter, and focus more on human connection—without requiring perfect data or adding more burden to already stretched staff? In this special bonus episode of Next Practices, we’re sharing a recent conversation featuring Civitas Learning CEO Will Ballard on the Higher Ed Geek Podcast, hosted by Dustin Ramsdell. Will breaks down what institutions actually need to know about AI in higher education today—from predictive and assistive use cases to the cultural and operational shifts required to make new tools stick. Rather than...
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Improving Student Success with a Hub-and-Spoke Advising Model
Next Practices
What if your advising system could see students not just as a collective, but as individuals with unique needs, goals, and challenges? At the University of North Dakota, that vision is becoming reality. In this conversation, we explore how a campus-wide transformation in student advising is already producing measurable success through rising retention rates, stronger relationships, and the power of shared data. You’ll hear from Dr. Karyn Plumm, vice provost for undergraduate studies and student success, who helped spearhead the shift to a hybrid “hub-and-spoke” model of advising. She’s...
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Ensuring Your Team is Strategically Enabled to Use Technology with Stephanie Smith Euting
Next Practices
Introducing new technology into an institution is only the first step. Ensuring that teams are fully prepared to use it in ways that align with strategic goals is where the real work begins. Strategic enablement is more than training users on where to click. It’s equipping people to apply data and tools thoughtfully, effectively and consistently to support long term student success. In this episode I talk to Stephanie Smith Euting, Director of Strategic Enablement at Civitas Learning about turning software adoption into measurable impact. With nearly 20 years of experience in higher...
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Thinking Creatively About Better Serving Adult Learners with Dr. Frank Dooley
Next Practices
Across Purdue Global’s virtual halls 38 000 students, nearly all of them working adults, log in after shifts and school runs, yet they are moving toward Purdue degrees faster because the university treats their lived experience as real academic currency. Dr. Frank Dooley, Chancellor Emeritus of Purdue Global, explained how his team built policies that convert military medic training, corporate leadership courses, and on‑the‑job technical certificates into college credit. On Purdue’s residential campus the playbook looks different: first‑year students find peer tutoring and...
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How to Build a Strong Faculty and Staff Advising Partnership
Next Practices
Nothing beats seeing a student’s confidence bloom when the right support team steps in. At Austin Community College, Dr. Giao Phan, Dean of the Public and Social Services Division; Kathy James, a nineteen-year advising veteran who now coordinates support across every campus; and Dr. Rania Salman, Assistant Department Chair and dedicated mentor in early childhood education, have turned collaboration into an everyday habit instead of a distant goal. Dr. Phan describes how her division built trust by showing up for students and colleagues semester after semester. Kathy explains how a single...
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Applying the 2025 Student Success Impact Report: Insights from the Civitas Learning Customer Development Team
Next Practices
What if the programs designed to help students were actually making things worse or simply doing nothing at all? It’s a question more institutions are asking as they confront the hard truth: not every initiative leads to better outcomes. This episode takes a closer look at the data behind student success and how colleges and universities can learn which efforts are truly making a difference. You’ll hear from a powerhouse team at Civitas Learning who bring a combined 75 years of experience in higher education. Nova Davidson shares insights from her two decades in enrollment management and...
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How UVU’s Student Success Specialists Build Connection Through Proactive Outreach
Next Practices
When students need support, it often makes all the difference when help feels personal, not procedural. At Utah Valley University, Ryan Bailey, Director of the Student Success Center, and Jamie Muhlestein, Associate Director of Student Success and Support, have helped build an innovative program that brings recent graduates and upperclassmen into part-time professional roles, focused on reaching out to students exactly when they need it most. Through consistent, genuine conversations mostly by text, the specialists are helping students stay connected, navigate challenges, and feel seen...
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How an IR-Led Outreach Experiment Boosted Student Persistence at Greenville Technical College
Next Practices
When a simple check-in email leads to a 77 percent increase in student persistence, it’s clear something powerful is happening. At Greenville Technical College, data is more than numbers on a dashboard. It’s a way to connect, support, and transform student outcomes. What started as a pilot outreach project by a team of data analysts quickly became a catalyst for campus-wide change. In this episode, Kevin McMindes shares how his team used predictive analytics and personalized outreach to make a real difference. From identifying students most in need of support to tracking the impact of...
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From Pressure to Possibility: Navigating the New Realities of Higher Ed
Next Practices
Higher education stands at a crossroads. With growing public skepticism about the value of a college degree and mounting financial demands on both students and institutions, the need for bold, student-centered leadership has never been greater. Today, you'll hear from someone who has not only confronted these problems, but also turned them into possibilities for positive change. My guest, Dr. Nicholas S. Zeppos, Chancellor Emeritus of Vanderbilt University, shares the story of Opportunity Vanderbilt, one of higher education's most ambitious financial assistance efforts, and what it took to...
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Creating a Data-Driven and Proactive Student Support System with UNC Asheville
Next Practices
Student success in higher education isn’t just about reacting to problems — it’s about building systems that anticipate them. And at the University of North Carolina Asheville, that proactive approach is making all the difference. Joining today’s conversation are two incredible leaders who are doing this work every day: Regine Criser, Director of Student Success, and Lynne Horgan, University Registrar. Regine oversees UNC Asheville’s Academic Success Center, leading efforts in advising, writing support, and peer tutoring, while Lynne brings over 25 years of experience to her role...
info_outlineToday, we're exploring ways to expand appreciative inquiry, a framework designed to empower students by focusing on their unique strengths, passions, and aspirations, beyond advising to all facets of campus. Joining us is the esteemed Dr. Jenny Bloom, a trailblazer in the field of educational leadership and the visionary behind the Office of Appreciative Education at Florida Atlantic University.
Dr. Bloom brings a wealth of experience and insight to the table, drawing from her extensive background as a tenured professor and former President of NACADA, the global community for academic advising professionals. In this conversation, Dr. Bloom shares the origins of Appreciative Advising, its profound impact on student success, and practical strategies for integrating appreciative inquiry across academic institutions. From the power of reflective questioning to the potential synergy between AI technology and human connection, Dr. Bloom offers a lot of great information for educators, advisors, and anyone passionate about fostering positive change in higher education.
Show Notes:
[2:34] - Jenny shares her background and how she found herself in her current position through an unusual journal.
[5:48] - The second she met with students in advising, she knew that it was exactly what she wanted to do for the rest of her career.
[7:17] - Many students come in not knowing exactly what they want to do, but even if a student has decided, things change.
[8:53] - Reflection is so crucial for students when making decisions, but for everyone as well in their careers.
[10:37] - Jenny explains how Appreciative Advising was developed and how the concept changed the trajectory of her own career.
[12:50] - What does Appreciative Advising look like in action?
[15:33] - This framework has spread and can be used in many different spaces. It’s all about building trust with other people.
[16:36] - The questions we ask matter. We can see potential in other people when we are curious instead of judgmental.
[18:34] - Sometimes, we need someone else to see our own potential to see it ourselves.
[22:28] - Part of advising is to make sure a student’s mind is open to change and possibilities they haven’t considered before.
[25:10] - The questions we ask through Appreciative Advising lead us to a student’s story.
[29:00] - Jenny describes some of the phases of Appreciative Advising.
[31:02] - By having a powerful framework, it can be used to guide interactions as well as onboard new employees.
[33:09] - The combination of AI support and human connection through Appreciative Advising has the potential to be very powerful.
[36:30] - AI can be used to help generate questions and shorten the learning curve of forming questions in an appreciative way.
[39:36] - When we use a SWAT approach, we tend to focus on the negatives. What happens when you take a SOAR approach?
[42:26] - Part of a strategic plan is the need to adapt and room for flexibility.
Links and Resources:
Office of Appreciative Education
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